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a·head (ə-hĕd)
Share:
adv.
1. At or to the front or head.
2.
a. In advance; before: Pay ahead, and you'll receive a discount.
b. In or into the future; for the future: planned ahead.
3.
a. In an advanced position or a configuration registering the future: Set the clock ahead.
b. At or to a different time; earlier or later: moved the appointment ahead, from Tuesday to Monday.
4.
a. In a forward direction; onward: The train moved ahead slowly.
b. In the prescribed direction or sequence for normal use: You won't hear anything unless you roll the cassette tape ahead.
5. In or into a more advantageous position: wanted to get ahead in life.
Idiom:
be ahead
To be winning or in a superior position: The home team was ahead in the second period. Your company is ahead in developing the new technology.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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